Hot Harley Nights 2013 a Roaring Success

The 18th annual Hot Harley Nights to benefit Make A Wish of South Dakota used great weather, a fantastic band and a great cause to draw what many feel was a near record crowd in downtown Sioux Falls Saturday (July 13)

We won't have the final tally for several weeks but warm, dry weather had people lined up at the food and beer tents in Falls Park West and having a great time dancing to the Jukebox Zeroes who mixed great covers and fantastic originals from their double CD "In Gratia". JBZ even donated a portion of proceeds from CD and t-shirt sales back to the charity.

Festivities started Friday night at J&L Harley Davidson. Jim & Lonnie, the owners of J&L, started Hot Harley Nights nearly two decades ago as a way to give back to the community. To date, they have raised $1.7 million for Make A Wish to help grand wishes to very sick kids in our state.

Friday included the biggest bike show in the region, live and silent auctions and music from ORYX.

Music started again at 11am Saturday at J&L from the Neo Johnson's and concluded the silent auction and raffle, before we lined up for the biggest parade in the region as 3500+ motorcycles rumbled through the streets of Sioux Falls on our way downtown, where we had a half dozen food vendors and no less than ten beer tents placed around downtown.

The Jukebox Zeroes took the stage at 7:30 following a welcome from Sioux Falls Mayor Mike Huether and our national anthem sung by Danielle, a former Wish Kid from McLaughlin, SD. Despite the warm, humid weather, the crowd stayed til the end, dancing and singing along with five fantastic musicians.

Here's a few of our favorite shots from the weekend. You can see a more comprehensive photo gallery here.

And proving that Hot Harley Nights is for bike enthusiasts of all ages, I leave you with this shot.

Mark your calendars now for the 19th annual Hot Harley Nights, July 11-13, 2014!